NPM Package Search & Download Stats

Search, inspect, and analyze NPM packages with zero configuration. Get package metadata, dependency trees, download statistics, and maintainer insights. No API key or login required — works directly with the public NPM Registry API.

Features

Mode	What it does	Output
🔍 search	Find packages by keyword with NPM scoring	Name, version, description, score (popularity/quality/maintenance), keywords, author, publisher, maintainers, repo URL
📋 package_info	Full metadata for any package	Version, license, dependencies/devDependencies/peerDependencies, maintainers, readme excerpt, creation/modified dates, all versions, dist-tags
📊 downloads	Download statistics	Weekly downloads, daily average, monthly estimate
🔁 Auto-retry	3 retries with exponential backoff	Reliable even during API rate limits
⏱ Profiling	Built-in timing	Logs elapsed time per run

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
mode	string (select)	search	Operation mode: search, package_info, or downloads
query	string	react	Search keyword (search mode) or exact package name (other modes)
maxResults	integer	25	Max packages to return (1–100). Search mode only.

Example Inputs

Search for web frameworks:

{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "web framework",
  "maxResults": 10
}

Get full info on lodash:

{
  "mode": "package_info",
  "query": "lodash"
}

Get download stats for express:

{
  "mode": "downloads",
  "query": "express"
}

Output Schema

Each run produces a dataset with the following structure:

{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "web framework",
  "maxResults": 10,
  "totalResults": 10,
  "results": [
    {
      "name": "express",
      "version": "4.21.0",
      "description": "Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework...",
      "url": "https://www.npmjs.com/package/express",
      "homepage": "http://expressjs.com/",
      "repository": "git+https://github.com/expressjs/express.git",
      "author": "...",
      "publisher": "...",
      "maintainers": ["...", "..."],
      "keywords": ["web", "framework", "http", "..."],
      "date": "2024-08-15T...",
      "score": { "final": 0.9, "popularity": 0.9, "quality": 0.8, "maintenance": 0.9 },
      ...
    }
  ]
}

Use Cases

Use Case	Description
🛠 Developer Tools Research	Find the best packages by NPM quality/popularity scores for your next project
🔒 Dependency Audits	Inspect dependency trees and maintainers for security reviews
📈 Market Intelligence	Track download trends and popularity of competing packages
🤖 AI / ML Training Data	Curate package metadata datasets for training code-aware models
📋 License Compliance	Check licenses across package ecosystems
🏗 Migration Planning	Compare alternatives before switching dependencies

FAQ

Q: Do I need an NPM API key or token? A: No. This actor uses the public NPM Registry API which requires no authentication.

Q: What rate limits apply? A: The NPM Registry API allows ~200 requests/min from a single IP. The actor includes automatic retry with exponential backoff.

Q: Can I get download stats for multiple packages? A: Run the actor once per package in downloads mode, or use search to discover packages then batch runs programmatically.

Q: How fresh is the data? A: Results come directly from the live NPM Registry API in real-time — no caching layer.

Q: Does the actor work with scoped packages? A: Yes. Use the full package name including scope (e.g. @angular/core, @nestjs/common).

Pricing

Pay per event — estimated cost:

Mode	Typical cost per run
search (10 results)	~$0.001
search (100 results)	~$0.005
package_info	~$0.001
downloads	~$0.001

You only pay for successful runs.

Changelog

• v2.0 — Automatic retry with exponential backoff, console profiling, input validation, richer package_info output (versions, dist-tags)
• v1.0 — Initial release (search, package_info, downloads modes)